


For Better or...

by Leela



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Humour, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-04
Updated: 2011-12-04
Packaged: 2017-10-26 21:06:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/287917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leela/pseuds/Leela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night before their wedding, Harry and Scorpius attend a dinner in their honour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Better or...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_flic](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=the_flic).



> **Betas** : eeyore9990 and batdina
> 
>  **A/N** : Written in 2009 for the_flic, as a very belated wedding gift. She requested Harry/Scorpius and wedding or bonding.

"That's just bloody brilliant," Scorpius snarled as he pulled Harry into a darkened doorway across the road from their destination.

"What are you on about?" Harry attempted to free his arm from Scorpius' grip. "And why did you drag me in here? We're late for this dinner as it is."

Rounding on Harry and pressing him back against the wall, Scorpius purred, "I've changed my mind. Let's return home. You can have your wicked way with me, just as you wanted earlier."

"I don't think so," Harry said.

Scorpius' pout could have melted the remaining icebergs, but Harry had found himself becoming immune over the past few months. "Please?"

"No."

"But Harry," Scorpius whined the last syllable of Harry's name.

"That tone hasn't worked since Lily was five."

"Fine. Be that way," Scorpius huffed. "Don't say I didn't warn you, then." And he stomped off across the road.

Baffled, Harry followed behind. His attention, unfortunately, was on Scorpius' arse, or he might have looked through the restaurant window and agreed that Apparition was the better part of valour.

~*~

Five Malfoys (including Scorpius), four Greengrasses, four Potters (including Harry but not Ginny who had returned to her maiden name), three Zabinis (Pansy having given up on her attempt at hyphenation), two Goyles, one Tonks, one Lupin, an uncountable number of Weasleys, and several children whose last name Harry couldn't remember filled the restaurant.

The silence that descended as Scorpius and Harry entered was almost as uncomfortable and awkward as the one between the moment when Harry defeated Voldemort and the one when everyone realised what he'd done.

"Uhhh..." Harry tried to back up, only to be stopped by Scorpius' hand once again gripping his arm.

"Don't you fucking dare," Scorpius hissed. "You were the one who insisted we come in here."

"You could have told me," Harry whispered.

"You could have trusted me."

"Fuck."

"I offered," Scorpius reminded him. "You turned me down."

"We've already established that I'm an idiot." Straightening his shoulders and clutching Scorpius' free hand, he gathered his courage and said, "Hullo."

The cacophony that arose in response to that single word was unintelligible.

"Are you sure we can't just up and leave?" Harry murmured, more than a little frantically, into Scorpius' ear.

"Some Gryffindor you are."

"I don't hear you speaking up."

"I'm a Ravenclaw. I know better. "

"We could go back to the original plan, the one where we elope," Harry suggested. His words fell into a lull and seemed to echo around the room.

"Don't you dare," Molly Weasley snapped at the same time that Astoria Malfoy snarled, "Over your dead body."

"Fuck," Harry said again, with even more feeling.

"Language, Harry," Andromeda Tonks tutted at him. "There are children present."

"Sorry," Harry muttered, feeling about seven instead of forty-seven and wondering how she always managed to do that to him.

Scorpius leant into Harry's side and said, "While Harry and I appreciate you all being here, we're more than a little confused. I thought the purpose of this dinner was for Harry to meet my mother?"

Narcissa and Molly exchanged a glance, which didn't reassure either Harry or Scorpius in the least. At Molly's nod, Narcissa smiled — striking more than a little fear into the hearts of every male present, whether related to her or not. "It's the night before your wedding. Molly and I agreed that such a special time ought to be shared with both of your families."

This time Harry dug his teeth into his lower lip in a successful attempt at keeping the litany of words that should not be spoken in front of the innumerable children unspoken.

"Thank you, Grandmother," Scorpius said.

"You're welcome, my darling." Narcissa waved her hand in an imperious gesture that was clearly intended to have them sit in the two empty seats at her table. With the Malfoys, Molly and Arthur Weasley, and Andromeda Tonks.

Harry found himself wishing that he hadn't agreed to let the Ministry turn off his wand alarm for the duration. But Scorpius was already moving, drawing Harry along with him.

"Potter." Lucius inclined his head, as Harry took the seat next to him.

"Mr Malfoy," Harry responded, once again resisting the urge to check on the whereabouts of his wand. Then, before he could stop himself, he held out his hand. "Why don't you call me Harry? After all, we're about to be family."

Lucius' mask cracked, his jaw visibly sagged, and his Adam's apple bobbed before he pulled himself together and shook Harry's hand. With even less enthusiasm than Draco had shown a few months earlier, which was saying something. "That we are... Harry."

With a smile, Harry said, "Lucius," and was gratified to see the man twitch. It was possible that this could be fun.

"Harry," Narcissa said. "Please call me Narcissa."

"It would be my pleasure."

After the round of greetings, introductions, and (occasionally sincere) compliments was finally over, a tap of Narcissa's finger on the edge of the table had starters appearing in front of everyone. Different starters, Harry was relieved to see. He wouldn't have wanted to eat whatever complicated, shelled creature was on Lucius' plate, no matter how wonderful the sauce smelled. And he was beyond glad that he was far enough away that the odour of whatever was in front of Astoria couldn't reach him. Just looking at it made him feel a bit sick.

"Don't worry, they won't ask you to share," Scorpius murmured into Harry's ear, "although I wouldn't mind a taste of your scallops."

Watching Scorpius's lips engulf the tidbit on his fork, Harry ignored the sniff of disapproval that came from his left. He was far more interested in encouraging the gleam of laughter in Scorpius's eyes. If Scorpius wanted to tease his family, who was Harry to stop him?

Eventually, the starters disappeared and their aperitifs were replaced by a deep red wine that Harry was willing to drink.

By the time the main course was served, Harry was sure his bottom lip was swollen and red from being bitten so often. He bloody well hated making polite conversation. Hearing the laughter from the tables around them, he turned to Scorpius and suggested, "Maybe we should mingle between courses? Say hullo to everyone else and thank them for coming."

Before Scorpius could respond, his mother pronounced, "I think not. It's hardly appropriate to leave the table during a meal." Her pursed lips and sour expression indicated that she'd hardly expected anything better from an ill-bred half-blood. No wonder Malf... Draco had had so many bits on the side over the years. Harry would too, if he had to come home to _that_ every night.

"If you're staying at the table, Harry," Arthur said, leaning across Astoria, "maybe you can solve a problem that came up the other day when someone brought in an odd little Muggle device he called a 'wee'. It was definitely little, but I couldn't quite figure out what it's supposed to do. He insisted it was jinxed because he never won anything with it. But we couldn't get it to do anything but sit there."

"You need a telly and elkectricity and _games_ ," Lucius answered, his eyes lighting up with an unholy glee that Harry had only ever seen from the other end of the man's wand. "You get to _kill_ Muggles and creatures and even wizards. It's all perfectly legal and Muggle-loving."

"Lucius, dear, I hardly think—" Narcissa began, only to be cut off by Arthur.

"Actually, Narcissa, this is fascinating. Lucius, you really do have to show me one of these wee games. Can you use your wand?"

"Some games let you have a wand, but the best have Muggle weapons. The submachine gun is quite ingenious, although," Lucius frowned, "I've yet to reach a high enough level to be awarded a topmachine gun. It's merely a matter of time, however."

Harry opened his mouth to respond but Scorpius hissed in his ear, "Do you want sex any time in the next century?" So Harry kept his mouth shut and let everyone else talk about the craziness of Muggle games.

That discussion carried them through the main course. From the satisfied glances exchanged by Molly, Andromeda, and Narcissa, Harry was sure it was a set-up, but frankly, he didn't give a damn. He just kept eating his fish, discretely banishing the caviar, and drinking more water than wine. The bruises on his ribs had bruises from Scorpius' elbow, but Harry had racked up an impressive number of sexual favours in return. Really, the exchange was more than worth it.

Between the main course and dessert, after noticing that others managed to step away from the table, Harry excused himself. Resolutely ignoring the plea in Scorpius's eyes, he headed for the loo, signalling Ron on his way past. Unfortunately, his planned whinge session was aborted when he walked in.

It was bad enough that Draco stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his robes and looking smug. But then Charlie came out of a stall with his shirt buttoned wrongly and _that_ smile on his face. Right bastards, they were. If anyone was going to have that much fun at this do, it should be Harry and Scorpius.

"Hey, Harry. Great party," Charlie said, stepping back so Draco could rebutton his shirt.

"If you say so," Harry muttered.

Draco snickered. "Feeling a trifle out of your depth, are you Harry?"

"A _trifle_ bored, more like." Harry glanced at the door, wondering where the hell Ron had got to. "You do know that your father's a nutter, yeah?"

"At least he's getting his jollies in ways that don't lead straight to Azkaban."

"Point."

"Draco, love," Charlie interrupted them. "You might want to wash that smear off your cheek before going back out there."

While Draco went back fussing in front of the mirror, Charlie sauntered out the door. Finally realising that Ron wasn't going to join him, Harry started to head out.

"Harry."

He stopped and turned around.

"When you return from your honeymoon, there'll be an envelope waiting on your desk. Do me a favour and ensure the information it contains is fully investigated." Draco smirked. "By the time tomorrow's over, I'm sure you'll be as eager to get rid of your mother-in-law as I am to get rid of my wife."

"Errr... all right," Harry finally said, not having a clue what else to say.

"Times like this I can almost see what Scorpius sees in you." Draco patted Harry on the cheek and swept out of the room so fast that Harry didn't have time to mention the drip of white down one sleeve of his robes.

"You left me out there. With them. " Scorpius slammed the door behind him and cast a locking spell. "I thought you loved me." His pout was positively Slytherin.

"You could have..." Harry backed up, unable to complete his sentence, as Scorpius stalked towards him.

"I could have _what_? Followed you? To the bathroom? Where my father was being fucked by his latest paramour?"

"I didn't know—"

"You're an Auror. How could you not know?"

"He's going to be my father-in-law. I was doing my best _not_ to know. Besides—" Harry reached for Scorpius and started nuzzling his neck "—I'd much rather be in here with you than out there with them."

Scorpius tilted his head, giving Harry better access. "Prove it."

Sliding his hands down Scorpius's back, Harry grasped his arse and pulled him closer. As their cocks lined up, Scorpius undulated his hips. "Fuck," Harry groaned. "Want you."

"T...tomorrow," Scorpius stuttered.

"Now," Harry insisted, grinding against Scorpius and smiling when Scorpius pushed closer, shoving Harry against the wall.

They kissed with Harry's hands still on Scorpius's arse, and Scorpius's hands buried in Harry's hair. Harry was about to flip them around so that Scorpius was against the wall, when the door was flung open behind them.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy!" Astoria's screech echoed off the tile walls.

Harry dropped his forehead onto Scorpius's shoulder. "Tell me I'm dreaming."

"We should be so lucky."

"Fuck."

"We're not that lucky either."

"Lucky! You're not getting _lucky_ tonight, young man. You're getting married tomorrow."

Harry was almost pulled off his feet when Astoria yanked Scorpius back by the collar.

"Mother, do you mind." Scorpius shook himself free. "This is the gents'."

"I'm not stupid, dear, no matter what your father may think," Astoria said haughtily. "Now, come with me, Scorpius. You have guests."

Scorpius caught Harry's hand, twining their fingers. Harry kissed him. "I'll be there in a minute, okay."

"No more than a minute, promise?"

"I'll be as fast as I can."

"Scorpius!" Astoria stood at the door.

Blowing Harry a kiss, Scorpius carefully closed the door behind them.

~*~

"Harry!"

Suppressing a curse, Harry stopped and turned back to see who'd called his name. "Yes?"

"I can call you, Harry, can't I?" The woman simpered at him and fluffed her carefully coiffed, thinning blonde hair. "After all, in less than twenty hours, you'll be part of our family."

By virtue of elimination and her resemblance to Astoria, Harry resigned himself to being polite and not continuing on to his table and Scorpius. He held out his hand. "Mrs Greengrass."

"Oh, please, call me Magdalena." She grasped the tips of his fingers and wiggled them briefly.

"Magdalena," Harry said, surreptitiously wiping his (now slightly greasy) fingers on his trousers.

"Oh, I won't keep you long, I promise. I'm sure you want to get back to dear Scorpius." She batted her eyelashes, sending a shudder down Harry's spine. "It's just a little thing. Not really anything at all."

"What can I do for you?"

"I understand from Narcissa that all invitations to the wedding require your personal," she sighed, " _charm_

"The hall is full."

"I only need one teeny little invitation."

"I'm sorry, Magdalena, but no." Harry finally managed to catch Hermione's attention and made the 'help me' gesture that they'd perfected over the years.

"It's for Daphne's husband's sister's father-in-law's niece's fiancé. We simply have to invite her."

 _No hexing Scorpius's grandmother_ , Harry reminded himself. "I'm sorry, but it's impossible. The guest list has been set for months."

"She's just a little thing. Surely we can squeeze her in."

"The hall is full," Harry repeated. "We cannot add anyone else."

"But she's family!"

"There you are." Hermione bustled past Magdalena and grabbed Harry's arm. "Excuse me, Mrs Greengrass, but a situation has come up that requires Harry's attention."

"Well, I..."

"Thank you for understanding, Magdalena," Harry said. With only the slightest qualm, he left her to Hermione's tender mercies.

~*~

"No pudding?" Ron's yell almost made Harry miss his chair and sit on the floor instead. "How can we _not_ have any pudding?"

"Honestly," Astoria declared, "Some people—"

"Cakes and other sweets will be served at the Burrow," Molly announced, speaking loudly enough to drown out Astoria's rant. "If you haven't been to our home before, a family member will be happy to Apparate you."

Under cover of the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor and people getting ready to leave, Harry asked Scorpius, "What happened? Narcissa said there would be black forest gateau and cheesecake for afters."

Scorpius snickered. "Mother was in the middle of berating Father over the stain on his robe, and he derailed her by suggesting that hers was a little tight around the hips and asking if she'd gained weight."

"You know," Lucius said, "When Draco finally gets rid of the harpy, life around the manor will be terribly boring. Then again—" he considered Harry "—you rarely made my life boring." With a short nod, he turned back to Arthur, who had taken over Narcissa's seat. "Next Thursday would be lovely, Arthur. I may have the newest Mortal Kombat by then."

"I think Grandfather likes you," Scorpius said. "I'm not sure if you should be pleased or terrified, however."

"Me neither." Harry smiled. "Come to the Burrow with me?"

"I don't think so." Astoria stood behind them.

" _I_ think it's our decision." Scorpius glared at her.

Astoria's nostrils flared. "You know how much there is left to do tonight."

"And it'll still be there when I get back from the Burrow."

"You. Will. Come. With. Me."

Scorpius appealed to Harry, but Harry just shook his head. He was not getting in the middle of this. He was going to need his bollocks for the wedding night.

"Fine," Scorpius sulked. "But I'm saying goodbye to Harry first."

"I think you _said_ quite enough earlier," Astoria sneered. "Come along."

Moving quickly, Harry caught Scorpius's hand before Astoria could pull him out of the room. "It's only one night. You'll survive, and I'll be thinking of you."

Their kiss was soft and gentle, filled with promises of the next day. Until Astoria got her hands on Scorpius's arm and hauled him away.

That envelope, Harry decided, could not arrive on his desk soon enough.

And neither could the next day.

~fin~


End file.
